Message from Local Organising Committee

We are looking forward to welcoming you all to Glasgow, Scotland, for the first joint ISMRM and ESMRMB meeting to take place in the UK.  The meeting will be held in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Center (SECC) in the heart of Glasgow on the banks of the River Clyde.  The SECC offers a combination of advanced technical facilities and friendly efficient service in an excellent location, only eleven miles from the City's international airport and a ten-minute walk from the City centre.  It has its own railway station and bus terminus linking it to Glasgow's excellent public transport system.  Fast road access via motorways link it to the rest of the UK and Europe with ample parking available at the Centre.  Accommodation ranges from University halls of residence to five star hotels, all within easy reach of the SECC and with two hotels on site.  Eating out is a lively and cosmopolitan experience with cafe bars and restaurants to suit every palate serving everything from pub food to haute cuisine.

Glasgow is the largest city and business capital of Scotland (pop.765K).  It is an international gateway renowned for the range and quality of its fine art museums and galleries, for the warmth and humour of its people.  It is a city teeming with heritage and culture with a splendid pot pourri of arts and entertainment to suit all tastes.  It prospered on trade with North America and most famously on shipbuilding, becoming the second city of the British Empire in the 19th century.  After the demise of much of the heavy engineering, a massive regeneration has taken place over the last fifteen years with "high tech" silicon based industries, pharmaceutical, banking, insurance, and the service sector now providing the main employment.  Today this rich cultural and industrial heritage is displayed in more than 20 museums and galleries, most of which are free to visit, while in 1999 it was chosen as UK City of Architecture and Design.

Glasgow and its Universities have contributed hugely to the basic science on which MRI and MRS developed.  Three of the key names are those of Watt and Kelvin, both Glaswegians, and Maxwell, who came from the South of Scotland.  These eminent pioneers who made it all possible have been recognised by naming the units or mathematical relationships we all use after them.  Follow in the footsteps of these giants and come to the SECC, Glasgow, to share the most recent advances in our discipline or to attend a comprehensive teaching programme in April 2001.

We hope that made delegates will wish to extend their stay in the UK and particularly Scotland.  You can drive for less than an hour in any direction from Glasgow and you will find yourself in some of the world's most spectacular scenery.  Loch Lomond, St. Andrews, and Edinburgh are all within easy reach of the City, while some of the finest golf courses in the world are right here on your doorstep.

We look forward to giving you a hearty welcome when you come to Glasgow in 2001.

Local Organising Committee
Donald M. Hadley, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., Chair
David N. Firmin, Ph.D.
Margaret A. Foster, Ph.D.
Roy E. Gordon, Ph.D.
John R. Griffiths, M.B., B.S., D.Phil.
David J. Lomas, M.D.
Roger J. Ordidge, Ph.D.
Derek Shaw, Ph.D.
Joanna M. Wardlaw, M.D.
Ian R. Young, Ph.D.